Chapter 20: The Thousand-School League

After returning to her dormitory, Jiang Tang received the transfer from Wang Laicai. Seeing a long string of zeros, she couldn't be bothered to count them and ignored the notification once the transaction was complete.

Manager Wang, head of the AAA Challenge Tournament: [Big Boss, I'm so sorry! I truly didn't recognize your greatness!]

Jiang Tang: [Mind yourself next time. *Pats head.jpg*]

Manager Wang, head of the AAA Challenge Tournament: [If I may be so bold, you must be in need of academic credits, right?]

Jiang Tang: [A little. Do you have a way to get some?]

Academic credits at Nebula Academy were quite difficult to earn. Apart from exams and regular classes, one could gain them by taking on missions or participating in individual challenge tournaments. However, after calculating carefully, even if she defeated Sheng Huaian, she would only earn a total of 30 credits at most.

Manager Wang, head of the AAA Challenge Tournament: [Hehe, would you be interested in joining the Underground Challenge Tournament?]

Jiang Tang: [Black market matches?]

Manager Wang, head of the AAA Challenge Tournament: [Oh, no, it's the Underground Challenge Tournament! You're guaranteed 0.5 credits for every win~]

Wang Laicai sent an image detailing the competition rules. The so-called Underground Challenge Tournament was divided into individual and team events. Matches were categorized into three tiers: A, B, and C, with A being the most difficult and C the simplest. A win in a C-tier match earned 0.5 credits, a B-tier match earned 1, and an A-tier match earned 2.

Truly a testament to the interstellar age; even academic credits could be traded! Jiang Tang was curious about where they managed to source such a large volume of credits for these black market games.

Manager Wang, head of the AAA Challenge Tournament: [That's a trade secret, Big Boss~]

Jiang Tang: [Fine. How do I sign up?]

Wang Laicai sent over a link and an address: [The tournament starts tomorrow night at eight. Keep a low profile, Big Boss; you'll face disciplinary action if you're caught.]

It was practically flirting with the edge of expulsion. But Jiang Tang desperately needed the credits, and she also wanted to see where she stood in terms of her current ability level.

Manager Wang, head of the AAA Challenge Tournament: [By the way, Big Boss, the Inter-School League is only a few days away. Why haven't I seen you on the leaderboard yet?]

Wang Laicai's casual question left Jiang Tang momentarily stunned. What was the Inter-School League? The term had been appearing quite frequently lately. After a quick online search, she understood. The Inter-School League was a competition between all interstellar card master academies, held once every three years. It carried significant prestige, and any student who made it to the preliminary rounds was considered an elite among their peers. Only the top three hundred in the preliminaries could enter the official tournament.

Jiang Tang checked the leaderboard. None of the top three were from Nebula Academy. Sheng Huaian was hovering between fourth and fifth, and even the second-year top student, Tanaka Mari, had fallen outside the top ten.

Jiang Tang: [I'm just about to start.]

Manager Wang, head of the AAA Challenge Tournament: [Wow, a hidden master! Making a grand entrance at the last minute!]

Jiang Tang chuckled. After a brief chat, she closed her terminal and settled into the recovery pod.

[Current Mental Energy: 50/50]

Jiang Tang keenly noticed that her mental energy recovery speed had slowed down. The manual stated that the optimal usage frequency was once every three days; excessive use significantly diminished the effects. Plus, having jumped three levels, she was now a C-rank card master.

In her mental domain, Jiang Tang summoned the system. After the upgrade, it didn't seem to have changed much.

The only difference was that she could now see the blessings from the deities. Goddess Nüwa’s blessing provided a 50% increase in luck, a 30% increase in mental energy recovery speed, and a 30% increase in compatibility with Huaxia-themed cards. The Great Sage’s blessing increased attack and agility by 50% each. Nezha’s blessing was a special attack boost against seafood, but it had a time limit, with only 10 minutes remaining. Jiang Tang guessed this was because she hadn't drawn Nezha yet.

Next, she organized her five existing cards: one purple card, two gold cards, and two bronze cards. The purple Nüwa card currently served only as psychological comfort, with all its stats unchanged.

Jiang Tang focused on the two gold cards:
[God · Great Sage Equal to Heaven Sun Wukong
Compatibility: 35%
Intimacy: 22
Proficiency: 30
Skills: Fiery Eyes, Law of Heaven and Earth, Copper Head and Iron Arms (Passive)]

All the stats had surged; it seemed her method of improving them through combat was correct. While thinking, Jiang Tang clicked on "Copper Head and Iron Arms."
[Copper Head and Iron Arms: Increases self-defense; grants a small chance to be immune to control skills.]

This skill wasn't as clearly defined as Nezha's blessing; she would have to figure it out herself. She looked at the other card.
[Artifact · Xuanyuan Arrow
Compatibility: 16%
Proficiency: 21]

These were her only two powerful cards. Normally, a C-rank card master should have a deck of about 15 to 20 cards; she had far too few. Jiang Tang needed some cost-effective cards. The Great Sage card drained her mental energy to empty after a single use, and one shot of the Xuanyuan Arrow consumed 20 points of mental energy. The remaining two bronze cards had limited lethality... Moreover, she had very few attack options. She couldn't just resort to hand-to-hand combat every time, could she?

Regardless, her mental energy was currently full, so she might as well draw another card! Besides, the probability of drawing Nezha had increased by 60%! Jiang Tang rubbed her hands together excitedly. She had a hunch that the three rebellious deities from the Heavenly Court would have good synergy with her.

Before drawing, she went to the Nüwa shrine to pray. "Mom, I’m your pure-blooded Huaxia child, your only one in this interstellar world. Please bless me with a good card..." She shamelessly tried to manipulate the Goddess. After praying, she knelt by one of the rivers, cupped her hands, and scooped up the rushing water.

[Artifact · Peach Wood Sword
Compatibility: 70%
Proficiency: 51]
[Artifact · Heavenly Thunder Talisman
Compatibility: 40%
Proficiency: 100
Note: This card is single-use; it must be drawn again after consumption.]

...Peach wood swords, talismans, and Bagua mirrors—if someone didn't know better, they’d think Jiang Tang had switched careers to become a Taoist priest. And they were all bronze cards. There was also a domestic-made submachine gun.

Jiang Tang: "Not bad."

She still had 30 mental energy points left. She decided to draw one last time before stopping. The final draw finally emitted a silver light. Although she didn't get Nezha, Jiang Tang was already familiar with the nature of gacha games and wasn't too disappointed. On the contrary, she was very much looking forward to her first silver card.

Jiang Tang caught the card floating toward her and flipped it over: "Chang'e!"

[You have resonated with a card!]
[You have learned its true name!]
[God · Fairy of the Vast Cold Palace Chang'e:
Compatibility: 40%
Intimacy: 29
Proficiency: 41
Skills: Moon Soul, Moon Shadow, Moon Radiance (Passive)]

The skill names weren't very intuitive, so Jiang Tang clicked on them one by one. Simply put, Moon Soul was a control skill that could freeze people, similar to Gu Xue's ability. Moon Shadow was an attack skill, the specific power of which she would have to test in the training room. The passive skill, Moon Radiance, was a healing skill that allowed for slow recovery from injuries when not in combat. Overall, it was very balanced—the most suitable card for Jiang Tang at the moment.

Jiang Tang muttered to the Chang'e card, trying to build a rapport: "Sister Chang'e, I'm your fan, Sister Chang'e."

As soon as she finished speaking, a light laugh echoed in her ears, and a breeze carrying the scent of osmanthus brushed against her face like a sheer veil.

[You have received Chang'e's blessing!]
[Agility increased by 10% (Effective only in avatar state)]
[Current Intimacy: 33]